Man arrested in rape of girl, 5, in Manatee

Dominic Jerome Hawkins, 36, was found in Sarasota and will be charged with capital sexual battery.

LEE WILLIAMS

Sheriff's detectives arrested a man they say on Monday kidnapped and raped a 5-year-old girl.

Dominic Jerome Hawkins, 36, will be charged with kidnapping and capital sexual battery, which carries the possibility of a life sentence.

“I cannot tell you how happy we are to have this individual in custody. This is something that every parent has as a nightmare,” said Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube at a late Wednesday news conference.

His investigators had received more than 50 tips from the public since Tuesday night.

“We have independent witnesses that we have spoken to and taken statements from, and a fair amount of physical evidence that is going to help us with this case,” Steube said.

The man was in the shelter when a half-dozen Sarasota Police officers came in and seized him, according to Becky Taylor, a Resurrection House employee who witnessed the police action. Hawkins went with the officers willingly. Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino said none of her officers used any force.

Hawkins was taken to Sarasota Police headquarters, where he was interviewed by Manatee County detectives. He eventually gave them enough probable cause to arrest him, Steube said.

“He did not confess. He made several admissions to us — he was with the girl in the convenience store, he purchased candy, and that he was the individual trying to get on the county bus — and then the questioning stopped as he invoked Miranda,” Steube said, referring to his legal right to remain silent.

Hawkins was booked into the Sarasota County jail, and later transported to Manatee County.

A record of arrests

Hawkins has been arrested in California, Colorado, North Carolina and Florida, Steube said.

In Manatee County, he has been arrested in 2008 on battery charges and in January for domestic battery charges.

On Monday, a Sarasota Police officer issued him a citation for being in a city park after hours, Steube said.

David Proch, Resurrection House's executive director, said his clients played an important role in identifying Hawkins.

“The plan was if he did show up to allow him to come in and then to get the police here,” Proch said.

Emi McGowan, 45, a native of San Diego and a client at Resurrection House, said she was the person who called the Sheriff's Office. McGowan said she recognized the man's height, his shoes and his duffel bag.

“I just got chills all over me,” she said. “I'm a mom of three myself.”

Homelessness consultant Robert Marbut was touring Sarasota with members of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation when they started hearing about homeless people working with police to turn in the man.

Sarasota Police officer David Dubendorf, who works with the homeless regularly, told the tour group that officers had gotten tips from the homeless community and were close to picking the suspect up, Marbut said.

Police also told them a group of homeless people had beat up the suspect at a camp and kicked him out, said former County Commissioner Jon Thaxton, who works for the foundation and was showing Marbut around.

The suspect left that camp and went to Resurrection House.

Several people at the day center said they recognized Hawkins after he came in and sat down in the back of the main room. One man said he had seen the suspect's photo posted at a bus stop. Dubendorf and some of the homeless clients nonchalantly kept an eye on Hawkins as they waited for police to arrive.

“The homeless population here is not willing to tolerate that behavior,” Marbut said. “That's a great sign.”

DiPino, the Sarasota Police chief, said she was struck by the “horrific” nature of the assault.

“When I saw that, I just prayed that law enforcement could apprehend the individual,” she said.

The crime

Sheriff's officials have said Hawkins' victim was playing outside with a young friend in the Wayside Glen Mobile home park when Hawkins approached.

Her parents were inside their trailer.

Hawkins had lived in the mobile home park recently, Steube said, adding that it is not known whether he knew the victim's family.

Using what detectives call “soft talk,” along with promises of candy, Hawkins allegedly lured the child to a nearby convenience store, where a video shows them choosing candy, waiting in line to pay for the purchase, which he then gives the victim, and then leaving together.

The child appears excited about the treat, and can be seen jumping up and down.

The pair were caught on the convenience store camera about 12:30 p.m.

Officials say Hawkins then took the victim to a vacant trailer near the Aloha Estates Mobile Home Park, in the 5300 block of 14th Street West, where the sexual assault occurred.

Shortly after the attack, about 12:45 p.m., Hawkins tried to board a Manatee County bus and leave the area.

Because the bus was in motion, the driver did not stop, but the security camera caught the man running alongside the bus, pounding on the door and holding his shirt.

Officials say Hawkins was yelling at the driver that he needed to get to Sarasota.

The girl managed to run home across a busy street and tell her family of the sexual assault and kidnapping. They called 911 about 1 p.m.

After being medically treated, the victim was taken home, Steube said.

Detectives were notifying the child's family Wednesday evening that Hawkins had been arrested.

“We feel we've got the right person,” Steube said. We're confident.”

Anyone with additional information on the attack is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 747-3011 or Crime Stoppers at (866) 634-TIPS.

Staff writer Jessie Van Berkel contributed to this report.

Manatee County Sheriff's detectives are questioning a “person of interest” in the rape of a 5-year-old girl Sunday afternoon.

The interview is being conducted at the Sarasota Police Department.

“The Sarasota Police Department is cooperating with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, involving a person of interest involving the abduction of the 5-year-old,” said Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.

At a hastily called news conference, DiPino stressed the unidentified suspect was neither under arrest nor in custody.

“Being a mom, I was concerned and hoped to bring closure to the case,” DiPino said.

She deferred questions about the ongoing interview.

“Manatee County detectives are handling all that,” she said.

The man was found at Resurrection House, 507 Kumquat Court, Wednesday afternoon.

The man was in the shelter when a half-dozen Sarasota Police officers came in and seized him, according to Becky Taylor, a Resurrection House employee.

He went with the officers willingly. DiPino said none of her officers used any force.

Officers questioned the man while he sat in a silver Jeep Cherokee near the shelter.

At 1:30 p.m. detectives arrived from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office and began talking to the man, who remained seated in the back of the Jeep, un-handcuffed.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the man was transported to the Police Department.

David Proch, Resurrection House's executive director, said his clients played an important role in identifying the suspect.

“The plan was if he did show up to allow him to come in and then to get the police here,” Proch said.

Emi McGowan, 45, a native of San Diego and a client at Resurrection House, said she was the person who called the Sheriff's Office.

She said she recognized the man from a video she saw. McGowan said she recognized the man's height, his shoes and his duffel bag.

“I just got chills all over me,” she said. “I'm a mom of three myself.”

The police chief was struck by the “horrific” nature of the assault.

“When I saw that, I just prayed that law enforcement could apprehend the individual,” she said.

On Sunday, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office reports the child was playing outside with a young friend in the Wayside Glen Mobile home park when the stranger approached. Her parents were inside their trailer.

Using what detectives call “soft talk,” along with promises of candy, the man lured the child to a nearby convenience store, where a video shows them choosing candy, waiting in line to pay for the purchase, which he then gives the victim, and then leaving together.

The child appears excited about the treat, and can be seen jumping up and down.

The pair were caught on the convenience store camera about 12:30 p.m.

The man then took the victim to a vacant trailer near the Aloha Estates Mobile Home Park, in the 5300 block of 14th Street West, where the sexual assault occurred.

Shortly after the attack, about 12:45 p.m., the man urgently tried to board a Manatee County bus and leave the area.

Since the bus was in motion, the driver did not stop, but the security camera caught the man running alongside the bus, pounding on the door and holding his shirt.

Officials say he was yelling at the driver that he needed to get to Sarasota.

The girl managed to run home across a busy street and tell her family of the sexual assault and kidnapping. They called 911 about 1 p.m.

After being medically treated, the child has returned home, Steube said.

The man, who is not known to the victim, is described as black, standing roughly 5-foot-10 and weighing 200 pounds, and approximately 30 to 45 years old.

He was wearing an orange shirt, baggy blue-jean shorts, dark tennis shoes and carrying a satchel.

Asked if he believes the child is lucky to have survived the assault, Steube said, “When the details of the case come out — the answer to that is yes.”

This type of stranger abduction and rape has not occurred in Manatee County for years, the sheriff said.

“Don't talk to strangers — that's the message that needs to be sent,” he said.

Anyone with information on the attack is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 747-3011 or Crime Stoppers at (866) 634-TIPS.

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